Rowan reads the letter and smiles.

"We were pretty good," Rowan says, unaware of any lull in his or the other's performances. He even claps Hurly on the back. "Excellent foreboding out there."

He then leans in, speaking in a lower voice to Greg and Barria.

"So I've got the scepter, and hopefully Mulligan has disabled the ornithopter thing. What else were we supposed to do before confronting the hag?"

     Mulligan tilts his head to one side as if thinking, clears his throat and folds his hands with exaggerated care.  After a long moment he delivers his verdict with the air of a man who has just been handed a very questionable meat-pie and who feels honor-bound to describe the flavor honestly. Ish.  Honestly-ish.  Honestly with a flair for politeness and flavored with deception and evasion, perhaps.

     If I were to judge the play by ambition, then it soars bravely and immediately collides with the nearest available tower. Their efforts were admirable, but admiration alone cannot replace talent, ability or coherence. The final monologue, however, was a genuine surprise. Raw. Earnest. Composed of words and more than one full sentence.  The sort of speech that makes one wonder where that kind of acting had been hiding.  All in all a play of uneven execution, punctuated by flashes of genuine feeling, undone by poor timing and an unfortunate reliance on confused competence. I would not recommend it broadly...

     Mulligan says to the hag, telepathically of course. He pauses. Glances sideways at Endelyn.  He wonders if perhaps she is looking for something a bit more... complimentary?

     But I will say this: I was never bored. And in some circles, I imagine that counts for quite a lot.  Nobody was going to fall asleep watching that performance.  One could not help but stay riveted with the perpetual anticipation of just what would happen next.  The performers included, I imagine.

Endelyn seems to agree with Mulligan's assessment, and her large frame shivers and shudders as something resembling a laugh trickles from her mouth. The hag scribbles something on a piece of parchment, then bony fingers deftly fold it in intricate ways until it resembles a paper bird. With a puff of magic, the bird flaps out of her hand and glides down to one of the quicklings in the audience, who catches it and hurries away with it off stage. The hag then moves from the balustrade, turns to Mulligan and sweetly says: 

Come, dearest Mulligan. Let us meet your friends and discover what your future holds. Will you accompany me?

As Rowan conferences with Barria and Greg, Charmay leads the group back to the prop and costume room where the costumes are dispensed with. 

Hurly seems especially pleased with himself, and asks Barria questions like: Was I good? Did I get it right? Do you think they liked me?

Charmay is noticeably less talkative and imperious than before, and says little more than: When you're ready I'll escort you to the Augurtorium, Endelyn's private audience chamber.

There is still no sign of Stagefright the goblin, nor of Mulligan. Some of the actors from the end room have migrated to the costume department or makeup room in preparation for the next performance.

     Funny thing about futures, they're always coming for all of us, aren't they?

     Mulligan responds and gives a little bow to show acceptance of her invitation.  He then begins to lead the way away from the Ornithopter and towards the door he entered from.

     He also takes a moment to send out a bit over the Group Chat to Barria, G'ReGinAlD and Rowan:

     Odd.  She seems to have enjoyed the play.  I think the Hag and I are coming to meet you all now.  Or so she says...

Rowan looks down at the sceptre he's acquired and back to Barria and Greg. He remembers the need for it but not exactly why. There's been so much here that has been incredibly fascinating and distracting at the same time. But he's sure they do need the sceptre. And Mulligan was taking care of the ornithopter thing so that was two. But for the life of him, Rowan can't remember what the third part of the plan required them to do.

He shrugs and smiles, it was bound to come back to him at some point. Or maybe not. At the very least they were making progress.

"Ready when you are," Rowan says to Barria and Greg.

Barria beams at Hurly, "You were so statuesque, Hurly!  Really just commanded that stage, beautifully done!"  Barria herself feels the adrenaline rush leave her body from the nerves she had going up on stage.  What a rush, she thinks, and is thrilled that the hag thought they did well.  Maybe she wasn't so bad after all?

As they leave to go meet her, she catches up with Charmay, "Everything alright?  Isn't this what we wanted?  You seem quiet."

Mulligan

Endelyn Moongrave speaks nothing further as she departs her viewing platform, makes the half-circuit of the balcony overlooking the orrery, and descends one level down the narrow spiral staircase. Mulligan is mildly surprised that she fits down the staircase, but notices that her voluminous dress seems to contract as she does so. The hag scuttles on the multiple spindly spider-like legs that form the framework of her dress as she skirts the edge of the floor where the great machine whirrs, and then down a short passage and through a doorway into a small auditorium.

Five ornate, high-backed plush armchairs face a raised dais. The walls of the chamber itself are jet black, with gold-painted scrollwork where the walls meet the ceiling and each other. An alcove at the back of the dais is half hidden by a black curtain. Endelyn bids Mulligan take a seat while she mounts the dais and waits...

-------------------------------

Rowan, Greg, Barria

Rowan's whispered question is answered by Greginald, whose sharp mind recalls all that Charmay instructed earlier: Step one was to perform the play in order to gain favor with Endelyn and free access throughout the castle. Step two was to find a way to release Gleam from prison, which is where the scepter is supposed to come in handy. Step three was multi-faceted, but involved confronting Endelyn during a performance (that Charmay would arrange), disabling her escape (including the ornithopter), neutralising the darklings, presenting the elf acrobat twins to herald the hag's doom, and then destroying her.

Barria's question to Charmay is met with candid dismissal. What does it matter? she answers quietly. Everything is proceeding as planned, and Endelyn will soon be dead. No more ridiculous theaters, no more inane performing to curry favour. I will have my dues.

The dwarf has a fairly keen sense of reading between the lines, and gets the impression that Charmay is a bit put out over the hag's invitation to the group despite their uninspiring performance, but that she is putting that aside for the sake of her immediate goals.

Once changed out of their costumes (Hurly remains in his dragon outfit, apparently too elated over the invitation to doff it) Charmay leads the group through the curtain, across the library, and up a spiral staircase; although the stairs continue higher, they ascend only one level. This leads to a great open space, larger even that the library, in which a huge whirling contraption is housed. Metal arms swing past with great spheres attached to the ends like planets or suns or moons, and lightning crackles throughout, emanating down from a huge rod that extends up and out through the domed ceiling. Several goblins and a few darklings can be seen around the perimeter or up on a higher balcony that encircles the area from above.

Skirting the outside, Charmay points to a door down a short hall and bids the group enter, candidly declining to follow as she has not been expressly invited. The dwarf, the elf, the gnome, and the bugbear enter a small auditorium. Mulligan is there, standing beside five ornate, high-backed plush armchairs, which face a raised dais. The walls of the chamber itself are jet black, with gold-painted scrollwork where the walls meet the ceiling and each other. An alcove at the back of the dais is half hidden by a black curtain.

-------------------------------

EVERYONE

Endelyn Moongrave, the Lady of Motherhorn, stands on the dais. Two bony arms extend from the black dress and point invitingly to the chairs, as a sweet motherly voice speaks:

Welcome to my Augurtorium. Please be seated. Your performance delighted me. The script itself was uninspiring, but your acting...! To watch Barria and Rowan try so hard only to be let down by the others, and then falter themselves... To see Greginald and Hurly rally at the end in an ineffectual effort to salvage the play, only worsened the calamity of it all. Ah, it would not matter what narrative or script was employed... the lost hope, the inevitable despair, the futility of trying... this was the real tragedy. And for this pleasure, I will grant the four of you an augury.

The hag pauses for dramatic effect, and then speaks in a slightly more grave tone:

Seekers of fate, you have come before the Dame of Unhappy Endings to glimpse your doom. Behold!

Several more bony arms emerge from the folds of the dress; they draw apart some of the black cloth from around the bodice, revealing a small stage, set within the space of the dress itself. The slender skeletal fingers begin to manipulate tiny strings attached to small puppets, each in the likeness of Barria, Greginald, Rowan... and Hurly. A macabre puppet play begins to unfold, with the story revealing how the life of each character is fated to end...

Rowan mouths the word augury to himself several times, even saying "Augury" out loud a couple of times, hoping that saying it will enlighten him as to what it means. Then he sees the stage inside the dress and more arms appear. "Oh augury, right," says Rowan then adds quietly "I know it as spider arms belly theatre."

D8: 7

Barria follows along happily.  Charmay's issue was soley Charmay's, and Barria figures she'll get over it.  Plus, there was so much to see!  She stops dead in her tracks as they pass by the huge whirling contraption that appears to have planets or something at the ends of the spinning metal arms.  It takes her a moment to recover and continue on, but her eyes never leave it until she has to leave the room.

She is disappointed for only a second however, as the grandness of the next room entices her again.  She immediately takes one of the high backed seats, feeling very regal and apparently well deserved after their performance and sits and listens.

What Endelyn says, surprises her a bit, but she tries her best not to let it show, she put her all into that performance!  And with no time to rehearse no less!  But then the hag in front of her changes and the dwarf recoils as the dress opens to reveal a miniature puppetshow....

The puppet show progresses quickly. The puppets themselves are an uncanny likeness, and Endelyn's voice acting is impeccable, creating an unsettling realism to the narrative. By the end of the display, Rowan has been poisoned to death by one of the other two, Barria has been hanged by the neck until dead, and Greginald, in a dramatic and gruesome finale, has been eaten alive by a dragon. Only the Hurly puppet remains alive at curtain fall, mourning the loss of his new friends.

The stage-within-the-dress becomes obscured once more within the black folds, the extra arms withdraw, and Endelyn's sweet feminine voice returns, addressing Barria, Rowan and Greg:

There now. You see? Her bony hands nest within each other, much as a mourner's might when giving condolences at a funeral. The Orrery of Tragedies never lies. Your fates are known. What you have seen here will surely come to pass UNLESS... one bony finger is raised... You accept my aid. For indeed the Orrery knows many futures, but only I can reveal how they may be brought to pass.

And so... Barria, Rowan, Greginald... I offer you this: Endelyn's hands extend invitingly... First a token of your trust. Your shadow. Nothing you'll miss. And then, in exchange for my aid, I ask that you may remain here in Motherhorn and perform on my stage... just a modest tenure... a mere three years. After this time, your shadow will be restored to you, and the path away from your tragic fate will be made clear.

Hurly shifts uncomfortably in his chair, perhaps because of the dragon tail still attached to his costume. Endelyn's veiled face then turns to Mulligan.

My dear Mulligan. Fate has brought you to Motherhorn also, but I sense you seek something else... something taken from you. Name what you would desire, and I shall do that which is in my power to restore what was lost... on the same terms.

the lost hope, the inevitable despair, the futility of trying... this was the real tragedy.

     Lost hope in the play, perhaps, but it was just a distraction.  Remember that.  Our hope is in her downfall and we're still well on pace for that...

     Mulligan says this over the Group Chat to Barria, Rowan and g'reG.  He doesn't know if her words or little play will actually cause them any despair but he offers his words as a meager attempt to prevent such.

My dear Mulligan. Fate has brought you to Motherhorn also, but I sense you seek something else... something taken from you. Name what you would desire, and I shall do that which is in my power to restore what was lost... on the same terms.

     Mulligan squirms a bit at this as he had not been expecting it... Though likely should have been.  He begins the process of answering but then pulls up short.  Not wise to be hasty in such an offer.  Not wise to accept a deal without knowing full terms.

     You are too kind, surely.  Alas, I could not name a desire so quickly and bluntly.  I have heard it unwise to make deals if all the terms and conditions are not understood.  Spelled out.  Iron clad, so to speak.  I once snuck into a carnival without paying.  I had assumed punishment would be being kicked out.  Maybe being dragged home to my parents so they could punish me.  Instead I lost something I held quite dear.  Perhaps lost it for good.  I am sure, of course, that you would not partake of trickery or mischief or such gross over punishment.  Perish the thought.  But misunderstandings can happen.  You spoke to the others of three years.  But out of an abundance of caution, which years?  The next three?  Their last three?  Years as we measured back home or years as you measure here?  Three years with only the time on stage being counted?  The details matter so dearly, my dear...

((If DM allows, Mulligan more of less says this to the hag and then to the group chat, sentence by sentence, so the group knows what he is saying...))

Rowan applauds loudly and cheers at the end of the puppet show. He looks over at the others and smiles. "I love puppets. They're like little people. Do you think that's why they're called puppets? After pup? Like a little dog or a little seal? Are seal's like dogs? I haven't seen one of those yet."

He looks back at the stage and to Endelyn. He's about to open his mouth but then he uncharacteristically pauses for a moment and thinks about all the warnings they've received while they've been here so far.

"So that's the future. Puppets of Barria and Greg are going to poison a Rowan puppet? I wonder? I've a pretty good stomach. There's very little I eat that doesn't agree with me. I would think a puppet version of me would have something similar."

He then looks more closely at the puppets.

"I know we've just met and I get told it's rude to ask too many questions when you just meet someone. But how do you know that's the future and not just a play like the one we just did? It's quite difficult to imagine Barria poisoning me. Maybe Greg. I'm not sure about his sense of humor yet, but definitely not Barria."

Rowan then looks down at this feet, looking for his shadow, then spins around a couple of times to catch it.

"I think I would miss him very much." Rowan says. "It's a very interesting offer, but to be honest, and while I admit, three years is a flash, and I do like performing on stages, giving up my shadow isn't something I'm keen to do. Now, I think I could maybe do another performance for you later today or tomorrow, at least what I think of as later today and tomorrow, as a thank you for your hospitality but then I would really need to be moving on."

Endelyn wouldn't have been able to answer Rowan's query about her methods of foretelling, even if she had been of a mind to, and has to wait until his babble is finished before she can get a word in. By then she has also received the mental message from Mulligan, and continues to bargain despite the reticence of her audience. With the same soft, gentle voice she croons:

Ahhh. Yes. Caution. Mmm. That is good. Only fools rush to bargain with the future. She lifts one bony finger, gently. Let us not speak of shadows, or years, or obligations. Not yet. Perhaps there is another way we might... aid one another.

Her gaze drifts lazily over the group. Do you carry any curios? Any trinkets that have known sorrow? Love? Old things remember such feelings so well. A pause. You haven’t happened across a unicorn’s horn, have you?

A light chuckle follows, as though she’s amused by the very idea. No, no… of course not. Such things are rare. Precious. Still, one must ask. You see, I have no wish to coerce you. You are free to leave Motherhorn exactly as you are... your fates untouched, unsoftened. But if shadows unsettle you, perhaps you would prefer a task instead. A small favor. An errand, really. Something far less personal.

A faint sigh, almost wistful, with a longer glance at Mulligan. There is something dear to me also, that was taken. Lost. If you were to return it, I might find myself inclined to... return that which was lost or taken from you. No promises. No bindings. Just kindness, repaid in kind. What do you say? Will you indulge an old woman in a small mercy?

Greg is unimpressed with the puppet show, he is further unimpressed with the deal set out and says nothing to confirm it, nothing at all that could be twisted to some form of consent or committal. Though at the changing of the deal he does shuffle a little in his chair, "something stolen from you. I was under the assumption that it was you that did the taking around here. I would hear what it is you would like returned to you, that being said I would not agree to such a thing so quickly. We gave you a play willingly, in return we would like free roam of your castle to think and make a more informed decision if that's ok with you, but first the details yes?" 

Greg eyes Mulligan warily, was it him that had something stolen by this hag? If so Greg had everything wrong, he has been looking in the wrong place, helping these people and getting himself in all kinds of trouble for no real benefit of his own. If his hoe truly isn't here then that thought disturbs him greatly and he is not happy about this. Still perhaps it could be a ruse by the hag, gleam is somewhere here after all and it was her shadow that was snooping around Greg at the carnival. 

The gnome pulls a purple gem out of his pack at the mention of trinkets, he places it on his knee and says nothing, curious if the hag would sniff it out, a wish created of malice and crystallised into physical form, his own malice.

Barria grins at Rowan's declaration that she wouldn't poison him.  Of course she wouldn't!  She wants to give him a hug for it, but decides that this probably isn't the best time for that.  She thinks on what the hag has said.. her shadow for three years?  She looks towards Hurly, quiet and statuesque in the corner, isn't that what was promised to him?  And didn't he say he has no idea on time anymore and was the most depressed creature she had ever come upon?  No. Thank. You.

When the hag starts changing her tune, wanting to exchange kindness for kindness, Barria finds herself wanting to acquiesce and is about to do so when the angry little gnome starts asking some decent questions.  But another trinket?  She isn't sure anything she is carrying with her would constitute anything to cherish by this witch, but why would she give her anything anyways?  She still needed her recipe back!

She does add once there is a lull in the discussion, "What about Hurly?  He entertained you as well, but you haven't given him anything in return."

     Is the plan to kill her?

     Mulligan asks over the Group Chat to Barria, Rowan and g'rEg.  As always the words come across plain and simple, emotionless and without inflection. 

     I do think I sabotaged the flying machine enough so she cannot escape via it.  The point of doing that was so she couldn't escape while we killed her, no?  And I see we have collected the staff needed to unlock the jail cell?  Is there part of the plan I am missing or should we get on with the killing part?  It would seem a bit optimal to do so here and now while she has no allies about...

     While suggesting and inquiring about killing the hag, Mulligan does his best to not let such things shadow his expression at all.  Best to keep the hag ignorant of such discussions...

     Anything I am missing?

"we are not agreeing to anything, hearing her out is merely a ploy to placate her whilst we work" Greg messages back to Mulligan as subtly as possible.

Rowan almost smiles at the thoughts in his head. It takes him a moment to realize they're not his usual meandering daydreams down the nooks and crannies of his mind, but actually Mulligan talking to the group. 

He thinks back "Killing seems like a big step and who do we really trust here? Maybe we have to maybe we don't. But I'd like to know what she says to Greg first."

Back to the group head talk...We need the twins together to be able to kill her.  I believe the staff is to help free the trapped one and then we bring them together in front of the hag and that makes her vulnerable.  I believe.

What trigger happy people she has found herself with.  Well, at least they try to get things done and that's something, Barria smiles to herself.